Soldiers break Bilin protests anniversary March

Israeli soldiers used force to break the weekly anti-settlements anti-wall protests in the Ramallah area village of Bilin, which celebrated Friday the seventh anniversary of the launching of its weekly Friday protests, according to a statement by local activists. They said soldiers fired rubber bullets and tear gas grenades at the protesters once they arrived at a section of the village where the army was building a concrete wall and fence on village land to separate it from area settlements. They also sprayed them with skunk water. Dozens suffered from tear gas inhalation and from smelling the skunk water, including international and Israeli supporters who normally joint the weekly protest. Bilin spearheaded the launching of similar peaceful demonstrations in many other West Bank villages suffering from Israel’s construction of the wall and land grab to expand settlements.